Public Relations
by ms.dee
Summary: Rachel Berry, starting her new life in New York City as the new director of an up and coming PR firm, never could of imagine how one person can change her life so dramatically. New friends. New drama. New found feelings. All of this accompanied with a mix of power, fame, jealousy and betrayal. The road to the top isn't as easy as Rachel thought and she's learning it the hard way.
1. Prologue

**Summary:** Rachel Berry, starting her new life in New York City as the new director of an up and coming PR firm, never could of imagine how one person can change her life so dramatically. New friends. New drama. New found feelings. All of this accompanied with a mix of power, fame, jealousy and betrayal. The road to the top isn't as easy as Rachel thought and she's learning it the hard way. Very AU.  
**Rating:** PG-13 (For now)

**Author's Note:** This story is just a random thought I had one day. So please forgive me if I don't get all the characters personality correctly. I don't know the Glee characters very well so I'm just writing them as close as I could and how they would fit in my story. This story has nothing to do with Glee (other then the characters) but I'll try to keep some music related stuff in it. And bare with me. I haven't decided if this fic will end up with Faberry but they are the main focus of this storyline. Thanks for reading and please tell me what you think of the it so far. I'll try to have the first chapter up soon. xoxo

**Disclaimer:** I DO NOT own any of these Glee characters. Just the storyline.

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**Prologue**

Today is the first day, the first day to the rest of her life. Rachel Berry, 27 and a NYU graduate, is about to start her new job at one of the finest up and coming PR agency in New York City. Granted, her dream career is still to perform on the stage where great musicals such as Wicked came alive. However, that will have to be a side hobby for now as she enters the large building, ready to start on a different path.

"Welcome to HQ, what can I do for you?" Rachel heard a girl spat her, clearly not enjoying her job.

"Uh, I'm here to see..."Rachel started but was cut off when the girl started answering the phone.  
"Do you have an appointment or what?" The girl asked impatiently.

"That's no way to talk to anyone. I'll have you see that some politeness will come a long way if you want to move up from your current, telephoning answering position." Rachel replied sharply and before she could continue, someone interrupted her 'about to be' full-blown speech.

"I see that you haven't really changed." A male's voice came from behind her.

"Kurt!" Rachel turned to see her long time friend. "It's so nice to see you again." She pulled him into a warm embrace.

Kurt chuckled at his friend's enthusiasm. "It's always lovely to see you as well, Rach" he then pulled away from her embrace. "Amanda." He threw towards the receptionist who seems to look a bit confused at the interaction before her. "This is Rachel Berry, our new Executive Director of Public Relations." Kurt introduced.

Rachel couldn't help but smile slightly when she witness this Amanda girl eyes' go wide when realization of who Rachel was hit her.

"I'm so sorry Mrs. Berry!" the girl started to frantically apologize.

"Ms. Berry." Rachel corrected, "Its okay, Amanda, was it?" the girl nodded. "Just try not to look like you hate your job so much." Rachel commented before Kurt led her to her new office.

A couple of hours passed as the two friends caught up on each other's lives. Kurt decided to leave Rachel to settle in to her new office before their meeting to introduce her. Rachel leaned back into her black office chair as she took in this moment. This was it, the start to a brand new chapter in the book of Rachel Berry. In the past couple year, Rachel worked through many internships at several prestigious firms to get where she is today. At 27, she felt like she had accomplished a lot. However, she wasn't finished. She's just getting started. So when she got a call from Kurt with a chance to move up in society, she couldn't pass it up. Now, as director of this new firm, she has the opportunity to shape and mold it into the next big thing. Rachel had always been passionate in everything she did and this was no exception.

"Rachel, meeting in 5." Kurt announced, pulling Rachel out of her daydream.

"Right behind yah." Rachel replied as she got up and followed Kurt to the conference room where a group of people has already assembled.

"Good afternoon everyone!" Rachel heard Kurt greet everyone enthusiastically. "Please take a seat so we can get started." Rachel allowed herself to take the seat next to Kurt at the end of the long oval shaped table. "How's everyone doing this fine Monday?" Kurt asked sounding a bit too excited. Rachel heard the room moans and groans but everyone was smiling nevertheless. Rachel is scanning the room to familiarize herself with the faces she'll be spending a lot of her time with.

"Who's the newbie Hummel?" Rachel heard someone ask. She looked to see who it was and was greeted with a devilish smirk. The Latina was eyeing her like Rachel was fresh meat, and she's ready to prance. Rachel knows a lesbian when she sees one.

"Down girl." Kurt teased. "Everyone, this is Rachel Berry." Kurt announced as Rachel stood to greet everyone. "She's our new Director of Public Relations." He added as everyone looked at Rachel in awe.

"Hello everyone. It's very nice to meet you guys and I'm looking forward to working with everyone." Rachel greeted, making sure she sounded genuine but still maintaining that 'boss' attitude.

"So Rachel, Brittany over there" Kurt started and pointed to a tall blonde who waved at her excitedly, "is your assistant. She will help you catch up with anything that you need. I'm pretty sure you've done your homework but Brittany can help you with everything else." Kurt assured her.

"Hello Brittany." Rachel greeted her.

"Hi Rach! Do you mind me calling you that? Or did you want me to call you Ms. Berry? Or RB? Maybe Ma'am?" The blonde asked and Rachel couldn't help but chuckle at the girl's enthusiasm.

"You can call me whatever you like Brittany as long as it's appropriate." Rachel answered and saw the girl light up. "Awesome." Brittany replied.

"Rachel, this is Santana Lopez and..." Rachel heard Kurt continue but was cut off.

"The only person you really need to know here." She heard the Latina say out loud. _'Oh, she's a feisty one'_ Rachel thought to herself.

"As I was saying..." Kurt cuts back in. "This is Satan and Quinn," Rachel smiled at the name slip and turned to meet the other person. "They're two of our best agents here so if you have any questions about clients and projects, feel free to ask them." Kurt explained. "And Santana, Rachel might be new to this group but she is still your superior so you best behave yourself because I have no problem suspending you again." Kurt warned without backing down.

"Gotcha boss." Santana replied clearly agitated.

"Now we have that taken care of..." Kurt continued as Rachel tuned him out. She was trying to get a good grasp of the place and people. She looked around the room, mentally taking notes of everyone's little perk. For instant, she noticed that Santana and Brittany are secretly hooking up by the way the Latina's arm would slide under the table and the blonde would twitch and blush. _'Wonder what's happening there...'_ Rachel thought amusingly. Then there's this tall guy in the back of the room looking as if he's lost. He looks daze half the time. _'Could be high.'_ Rachel shrugged off her thoughts. She continues to look around and her eyes fell upon hazel green eyes that were looking right back at her. Rachel quickly looks away for she has been caught staring.

"Quinn's gorgeous isn't she?" Rachel was startled at the voice behind her. Brittany. Apparently she's been so engross in her people watching that she didn't realize that the meeting had been adjourn and people are getting up and leaving.

"Uh...yeah. I guess." Rachel stumbles to answer the blondes comment, as she wasn't really sure what to say. She hasn't really noticed much about the other blonde girl, other then she had beautiful eyes. _Beautiful, soul searching hazel green eyes._


	2. Promotions

**Author's Note: **I just wanted to say thank you guys for reading, reviewing and following this story. This is greatly appreciated. I also apologize for the late post. I've been pretty busy with work and school so I can only write on my free time. I'll try to get the next chapter up faster. Also, I know the story might start off a bit slow but I need to establish a couple of things before handing you guys are the fun bits. So bare with me okay. And to answer the Faberry question. This is a Faberry story throughout. The only thing is I haven't decided if it will end as such. That all depends on how this story goes. So you'll have to stay and see. Thanks again for reading.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the glee characters. Just the storyline.

* * *

**Chapter 1- Promotions**

It's been months now since Rachel first started with HQ public relation firm. She was able to fall into her new roll and pick up from where the old director left off rather easily. In the short time she has been there she was able to reorganize their clients database and better manage the agents that are sent out to handle them. Rachel had to let go of several employees due to their lack of participations and work ethics but other then those incidents, Rachel manage to be on good terms with the employees she did keep. Even Santana manage to respect her a bit more now.

"Rachel, you have a meeting with a client in an hour." Rachel heard Brit remind her from the door to her office.

"Thank you Brittany." Rachel thanked with a smile. Out of everyone at the office, other than Kurt, Brittany has been her favorite person. She was always eager to help and carries a smile even when the situation didn't call for one. "Oh Brit, can you call in Santana and Quinn for me?" Rachel requested nicely.

"Of course!" Brittany bounced out of her office, happily.

"You wanted to see me?" Rachel heard a voice call into her room minutes after. She looked up to meet those green eyes she hasn't really seen in a while. Everything at the office had been so hectic and some clients demanded traveling agents so Rachel hasn't really gotten a chance to get to know Quinn like she did Brittany or even Santana.

"Yes!" Rachel shouted, getting up. _'Why did I just stand up?' _She thought to herself. She can hear Quinn giggle at the abrupt action. _'Great, now she's laughing at me.'_ Rachel doesn't know why she felt so nervous all of a sudden. "Ugh, I mean yes." She said again, "Please take a seat." Rachel offered.

Quinn proceeded to take a seat as she shot Rachel a smile. "What did you want to talk to me about?" she asked.

"Oh, where's Santana?" Rachel looked towards the door, "I need to talk to the both of you." She explained.

"She said she needed to accompany Brittany to the bathroom or something like that." Quinn replied giving Rachel a knowing look.

"Oh boy." Rachel breathes out. "She's going to be a while huh?" Rachel asked, amused. On any other given day Rachel would of storm into the bathroom and warn Santana with sexual harassment clauses but today, today she couldn't bother. Rachel was simply more interested in getting to know Quinn today.

"Give them 10 minutes." Quinn answered, giggling. _'That giggle is so cute.' _Rachel thought and then mentally slapping herself after.

"Right. Well, until she gets here, how was your trip to London?" Rachel tries to start a conversation.

"It was alright. Work." Quinn replied, short and to the point, her earlier playfulness now gone.

"Oh." Rachel didn't know what else to say now. She felt nervous and intimidated by Quinn. "Uh, were Alex and his team giving you a hard time?" Rachel continued to make an effort towards the blonde, knowing what assignment Quinn was on.

"No, they were civil. Plus the press wasn't as interested in him as we thought or liked it to." Quinn explained nonchalantly.

"Well, that's a shame. I heard about the 'almost' fight he got into." Rachel bought up, "good job covering that up quickly." Rachel was talking business now. It was something she does when she wasn't sure what to say.

"Wasn't hard to cover since he tried to punch out my boyfriend." Quinn answered and Rachel felt like someone just blew up a tank somewhere outside. The look on her face couldn't scream _'surprise'_ any louder.

"Your...your boyfriend?" Rachel stuttered, "You brought your boyfriend on a job?" Rachel retreated to business again. The only way she knew how to deal with the situation.

Quinn sat up straighter at the tone of Rachel's question. She knew she hadn't talked to Rachel much since she got here but she has never heard her sound like this before. "Uh, he was in London for business so he came to visit me." Quinn explained.

"Oh, okay." Rachel tried to calm herself. "Sorry, I didn't mean to sound so...so frustrated." Rachel apologized. _'Horrible choice of words Berry!'_ She mentally berated herself. "I just don't want to take any disciplinary actions towards you cause I...cause you're one of our best here." The brunette corrected herself.

"I understand..." Quinn replied as things became a bit awkward in the room. Both girls didn't know what else to say but luckily for them, Santana and Brittany showed up.

"What did I miss?" Santana busted into the room. She saw the two girls straighten up from their seats and eyed them curiously. "Weird..." Santana started saying but stopped when Rachel noticed an evil glare that Quinn shoots the Latina.

"Sit down Lopez and Brittany, you can join us." Rachel changed the topic. "Alright, I wanted to talk to you guys about an upcoming company event. So, recently we've became the nation's top three PR firm. The news is still under wrap until the press release later this month. As for you two, I've talked it over with our executives and we've decided to make you guys the faces of HQ." Rachel explained.

"WHAT?!" Both girls shouted, wide eyes.

"What are we surprised about? Us being top three or you two being the face of a really popular PR firm?" Rachel asked cheekily. She knew that they were going to react like this so she was somewhat prepared for this. Forcing Santana to do this means forcing her to clean up her act and be a bit more professional cause when it comes down to it, Santana Lopez was great at her job. As for Quinn, she was usually the behind the scene type gal at this company but she knew how to get things done and done quick. Plus, their gorgeous appearances were an added bonus.

"You can't be serious?" Rachel heard Santana speak.

"I'm very serious Santana. This is not a request, per se. This is your job. Do it or find yourself out of a job." Rachel taunted. Of course, she wasn't going to really fire Santana but she needed to show her whose boss around here.

"You can't do that. Can she?" Santana asked Quinn who remained quiet and just looked at Rachel.

"I can and I will if you don't participate Santana. Honestly, the job is not even that difficult. All you two have to do is answer questions when asked at press releases, functions and events while maintaining a proper image for HQ. Other then that, you will still go about your days like normal. Your clients will remain, possibility lessens but that's to be determined. Plus, it's a promotion." Rachel explained further and figured she should have started with 'promotion' first.

"So we're getting a raised?" Santana finally eased up. "Why didn't you just say that!" She sat down grinning. "So what's our title?" Quinn finally spoke.

"You guys are now HQ's Executive Representatives and before you ask Santana, I'm still your boss." Rachel replied.

"Damn." Rachel can hear Santana mutter.

"This all means you guys will be working closely with me on certain projects," Rachel continued and saw Quinn tense at the idea. "And will be leads if I'm not available. Any questions?" Rachel finished.

"No." Both girls answered.

"Good. However, if you do, feel free to ask me or Kurt." Rachel told them in which the girls just nodded. "Alright, here's first order of business. I have a client coming in a bit, I need one of you to join me at this meeting." Rachel mentioned, waiting for a volunteer but to no anvil.

"I'll be nice and..." Santana started, "let Fabray have the first one!" She quickly let out before getting up and heading towards the door. "You don't need me for anything else right? Right. Okay, see ya!" She left before anyone can answer her.

"Well, she was fast to leave." Rachel was still surprised at how fast the girl left. Giggling to herself, she then spoke, "Brittany, can you set up everything for my meeting with Ms. Mitchell and her companies. Oh and Brit, you are now going to be our office's Assistant Manager. Your job is to make sure everything and everyone is up to date on well...everything. You don't have to assist me anymore." Rachel announced giving the blonde girl a sweet smile.

"But who will help you with stuff and bring you coffee?" Brittany asked looking worried.

"Don't worry, I'll hire someone new for that. Plus, if you want, we can go get coffee as friends." She told Brittany who beamed at the idea.

"That'll be awesome!" Brit ran and gave Rachel a hug and went to go do what she was asked.

"That was nice of you." Rachel had forgotten that Quinn was still in the room.

"What was?" Rachel was confused.

"You extending friendship to Brittany. I'm pretty sure that made her day if Santana hasn't already." Quinn added.

"She's very sweet and I'd like to be friends with her outside of work. Plus, I don't have very many friends here in New York so why not." Rachel replied casually.

"I'm sure some of us wouldn't mind being friends with you outside of work as well..." Quinn started as she got up to leave but before she was able to say anything more, someone came into the room and interrupted her.

"RACHEL! I've missed you!" A tall beautiful brunette came in, gunning towards Rachel for a hug.

"Looks like you do have friends after all..." Quinn said quietly and walked out before Rachel was able to reply. _'I need to explain to her.'_ Rachel thought to herself, _'but why?'_ she found herself asking.

"Shay. Shay Mitchell." Rachel finally acknowledges the tall girl as she returned the hug. "I've missed you too."


	3. Pretense

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I, firstly and foremost, want to apologize for the awfully long wait on this story. I haven't abandoned it, I promise. Life happens and I couldn't write and I'm sorry. Things has settled a bit calmly in my personal life so now I have the time and energy to give this story the effort it needs. Thank you for reading if you continued to follow this story. Please, let me know what you think so far. I promise to try and update as soon as I can. Thanks again! :D**

* * *

**Chapter 2- Pretense **

"They look so friendly." Britney commented as she watch the two girls in Rachel's office talk and laugh like they're old friends.

"50 bucks they've slept together." Santana replied with a smirk.

"Just cause they're friendly doesn't mean they've slept together S." Quinn told the brunette calmly.

"Jealous Q?" Santana redirected her focus.

"Why would I be?" Quinn looked up from her computer. "I have a boyfriend." She added as a matter-of-fact.

"Uh, huh." Santana uttered not believing the blonde. Little did Quinn know, Santana is more observant than people give her credit for. She has come to figure out that when Quinn is acting extremely calm is when she has the most to hide. She could tell that the blonde is struggling with some newfound feelings she might of developed for the new boss and doesn't know how to deal with it. Quinn will eventually open up to her; she just has to let Q do it on her own terms. _If she's brave enough._

"Quinn?" They all pretended as if they weren't spying on the new boss. Rachel gave them a weird look before continuing. "You ready?" The blonde nodded as she took her notebook and headed back into Rachel's office. She was not looking forward to it whatsoever.

"Shay, this is Quinn Fabray. Quinn, this is..."

"Shay Mitchell." Quinn said before Rachel was able to finish. The blonde extended her hand to politely greet the tall girl. "Pleasure to meet you." She said with a pleasant smile.

"Nice to meet you as well." Shay said cheerfully as she took the shorter girl's hand.

"Shay here was one of my clients when I was still working in Los Angeles." Rachel cuts in. "So, our job today Quinn is to persuade Ms. Mitchell here to consider HQ as her new primary PR team." Rachel was all about business now. Quinn took a quick glance at Rachel and she couldn't help but feel a bit intimidated by how professional and 'boss' like Rachel can be.

"Right." Quinn accepted the challenge. However, she still wanted to know more about the two's personal relation. Giving her attention back the taller brunette in the room, Quinn was ready to sell her company. "Ms. Mitchell..." She started.

"You can call me Shay." The model told her.

"Alright, Shay..." Quinn corrected, not faltered by the interruption. "Here at HQ, we hold our clients at the utmost importance. Our priority is to make sure you're well represented and richly portrayed." Quinn stated.

"How do you mean?" Shay asked.

"Here at HQ, we make sure that your name represents something important not just what you do. The public likes to see good things and we show them that. However, unlike other PR firms, whom only focus on the positive things, we allow the public to see the human side of you." Quinn replied confidently. "We show them that you're someone whom they can relate to. We don't just show the good and cover the bad. We present the good and accept the bad because we're all just human." Quinn finished.

"I like her." Shay commented which earn a shocked looked from Rachel. "I'm in."

"What?" Rachel answered, surprised as she was still daze by Quinn's speech. "Oh, really?"_ Great, she chooses now to act all unprofessional_.

"You don't want me as a client?" Shay asked amused. Both her and Quinn were now staring at Rachel, confused.

"What? No. I mean yes. Yes of course I do!" Rachel stammered. She felt her cheeks heating up ever so slowly.

"Is she always like this?" Shay turned to ask Quinn.

"I don't know. You've known her longer." Quinn commented back not sure why she pointed that fact out.

"True." Shay gave her a nod and smile before looking at Rachel. "I'll have my manager contact you to start the paperwork. It'll be great to work with you again Rachel." Shay said as she got up readying herself to leave. Rachel got up as well and walked her to the door.

"You'll be working more with Quinn here but I'll be around." Rachel corrected her.

"Even better." Shay replied, looking first at Quinn before giving Rachel a cheek kiss. "I'll see you. Let's do lunch soon. I'll call you." Shay waved her goodbye and left leaving Rachel just blushing where she stood.

"That was easy. If you don't need me for anything else, I'm going to go start the paper works." Quinn spoke up.

"Yeah, ok." Rachel didn't know what else to say.

It's been a couple of weeks now and things in the office went back to normal. Well, as normal as one's office can be. After the meeting with Shay, things between Quinn and Rachel seem to be strictly professional. Where Rachel could be seen joking with Britney, Kurt or the rare occasion, Santana. However, whenever Quinn and Rachel spoke it was merely to update one another on what's going on with clients.

"Rachel?" Kurt called during their lunch meeting. "Rachel, you okay?" He asked.

"What? Why?" Rachel snapped out of her thoughts.

"You seem so distracted. Is everything okay?" Kurt asked, concerned.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry, I'm fine Kurt. Just lots of things to do." Rachel replied as her eyes found hazel ones across the hall. Kurt noticed her distraction and followed her line of sight and found Quinn at the other end. Quinn looked away as soon as she saw Kurt looking at her. And just like that, she was gone.

"She likes you, you know." Kurt told her as she went back to his salad.

"Who?" Rachel snapped her head back to look at Kurt, confused.

"Quinn." He said simply.

"What? No. She has a boyfriend, plus she's straight." Rachel defended the blonde, not sure why she was doing so.

"We both know, just because she has a boyfriend, that doesn't mean she's straight." Kurt corrected.

"Even if she's not straight, she still has a boyfriend." Rachel pointed out.

"Yeah. Seasons change." Was all Kurt said as he packed up and usher Rachel to do the same for their upcoming meeting. Rachel didn't want to think about the possibilities but it's too late, Kurt had planted something inevitable.

Across the way, Santana and Quinn were about to have a similar conversation. Santana too, noticed the subtle glances Quinn was having with Rachel.

"Can I ask you something?" San heard the blonde.

"You know you can." She replied, the mocking tone she usually carried was now gone. She can feel the nervousness from her friend and Santana may never admit it out loud but she cared for her blonde friend. They are best friends and as crazy as she portrayed herself, she knows when to be a friend for Quinn. "What's going on?" She asked, noticing the blonde's hesitation. "You know you can talk to me about anything." She confirmed.

"I know." Quinn smiled her reply, "It's just...I don't know how to say it." Quinn had trouble putting her thoughts into words.

"Is this about Rachel?" Santana ran with it. She saw the shock on Quinn's face and knew she was right. "It's okay." She comforted her friend.

"Is it?" Quinn was confused. "Every time she's around I feel a bit light headed. Is it weird to have a crush on her?" Quinn finally had the nerves to ask.

"It's not weird. The girl is hot." Santana pointed out in which she got a mean look from Quinn. "Don't throw daggers this way, she is." Santana confirmed with a chuckle. "And there's nothing wrong with a little crush." San pointed out.

"But I'm straight!" Quinn exclaimed a bit too loudly causing people around them to look up curiously. "And I have a boyfriend." Quinn added.

"Funny how the boyfriend wasn't your first reason." San smirked. "And can you relax? Like you said, it's a crush, and unless you act on it, I don't see the problem with having eye candy at work." Santana explained. "Do you plan on doing something about your crush?" San asked to where Quinn shook her head. "There you go. Stop stressing yourself out over a crush. Enjoy the hottie..." Santana said as she nodded towards someone. That someone happened to be Rachel, whom was walking pass them. The shorter girl gave them a smile as she passed and Quinn's face flushed a bit. "Oh boy. Calm yourself." San said as she poked Quinn's cheek.

"Shut up." Quinn smacked the brunette's hand away and gathered her stuff to leave. "Don't tell Brittney." Quinn told San firmly.

"What makes you believe she doesn't already know? She knows everything that goes on here." Santana replied as got up and walked away.

"Everything?" Quinn questioned curiously. "I'll be back later." Quinn said as she took off the other way. She needed to find Britney. She needed to know more about this Shay Mitchell girl and her past relation with Rachel. _She's just curious. It's her job. Or is it? _


	4. Physical Attrations

**Author's Note: **Thank you everyone for reading, commenting and following my story. I hope you're enjoying it so far. I'm actually writing the next chapter right now so hopefully I can get it done by tonight and get you guys another chapter to read by the end of the day tomorrow. Also, I want to thank you to those whom reviewed last chapter. It is greatly appreciated. Sorry if I don't reply to them personally, just know that I'm very thankful. :] Again, enjoy this next chapter.

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**Chapter 3- Physical Attraction**

Blinding bright lights continuously flashing as Quinn made her way down the red carpet in this month's celebrities' charity event. Tonight was **The Somaly Mam Foundation** charity ball in which Shay Mitchell was a big supporter of. Quinn followed closely behind the tall model and her manager to make sure things went smoothly, which wasn't difficult since the tall brunette was nearly perfect.

Under normal circumstances Quinn wouldn't mind or fuss about a situation like this but after her '_random_' talk with Britney about Shay some time ago, her suspicions were confirmed regarding Rachel's relations with the model. After finally being able to admit to herself that she indeed developed a ridiculous crush on her boss, Quinn tried her best to minimize the two's interaction. At the end of the day, that was proven to be easier said than there was Shay whom she wants to dislike but can't really find a good enough reason to. The girl was genuinely a good person.

"Hey you." Quinn heard from the side. The familiarity of the voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Hey!" Quinn replied nervously, looking up. "Are you work...-" Quinn asked but stopped when you realized what the shorter girl was dressed in. Rachel was in a long black, one shoulder dress that was form fitting at the torso and a bit more relax and flowing in the bottom half. You wouldn't guess the girl was only about 5'1 by the length of it. Rachel was sporting a knowing smile when she caught Quinn looking her over. Clearing her throat, Rachel finally got Quinn's attention back to her face.

"Yes, I'm working. As you can see..." Rachel joked as she pointed to her dress. "No, I came as a guest." Quinn nodded but clearly still confused. You normally have to be personally invited to these things, which means you're a big celebrity or a huge financial supporter of the cause. Quinn knows that Rachel is well known in the PR industry but she wouldn't have guessed that she was a part of something like this.

"Rachel, let's go!" _Then that happened_. From somewhere beside Quinn, she heard Shay and everything seems to make more sense. Rachel's was Shay's guest. _Shay's plus one. _Then all of a sudden the idea of Shay being nearly perfect didn't matter to Quinn anymore_. She disliked the woman._

"Right behind you." Rachel replied as she gave Quinn a small smile, "I'll talk to you later." Rachel processed to walk pass the blonde to meet with her friend.

"Yeah." Quinn mumbled after Rachel had already left and made her way to the car. Her presence inside the charity wasn't necessary but now she's second-guessing her decision not to go. Shay had asked if she wanted to attend the event to make the PR work a bit easier but Quinn declined politely. If only she knew Rachel was going to be there dressed like _that_. The mental picture of Rachel in the dress flashed through Quinn's mind and the girl felt her cheeks growing warm. _STOP_. Finally reaching her car, Quinn opened the metal frame and slumped inside. She took out her phone and decided to dial Santana for some company.

"This better be important." Santana answered, clearly frustrated.

"I need a drink." Quinn said pointedly. "Invite Britney, I know she's right next to you. Or under you." Quinn pointed out. Quinn couldn't help but smile. She rarely pokes fun of the two but it's always nice to get one in once in a while.

"Or you can join." Santana replied suggestively but not really meaning it.

"Ew. No thank you." Quinn answered, discussed at the idea.

"Oh please, I'm sure if Rachel asked you, you'd jump right on that." Quinn can hear the humor in the other girl's voice. Even though she knows it's a joke, she can't help but be defensive.

"That's not true! I have a boyfriend..." Quinn started but was rudely interrupted.

"Yeah, the boyfriend. We both know if that wasn't your only excuse, you would tap the hobbit by now." San commented, "And please, don't tell me you're straight because we both know that's not true. Especially with the way your eyes linger on shorty's little behind..." Quinn can hear Britney giggling in the background as Santana continued, "Yeah Q, I see you." San finished. At this point, Quinn is so glad she was by herself in the car because she's positive her face just went 50 shades of red.

"Are we going to drink or what?" Quinn tried to steer the conversation back to the original topic.

"What about the boyfriend?" Santana asked, "Isn't the giant going to be pissed off you're gonna go get shitfaced." S stated.

"Out of town." Quinn confirmed, "Meet you at Lace in 30?" Quinn planned.

"45." Santana argued.

"Make it quick." Quinn agreed as she disconnected the call.

An hour later, Quinn was able to spot her two best friends. At this point, Quinn already had consumed a drink or was it three. She's not entirely sure. Quinn is still new to the whole '_drinking'_ scene so her tolerance is nowhere near high enough.

"About time." Quinn pointed out as the girls made their way over.

"What? A girl has needs." Santana replied as she took a seat at the bar next to Quinn with Britney on Q's other side. "Jack and coke, please and a cranberry vodka for her" Santana then ordered for Britney and herself.

"Tell me about it." Quinn slurred out before she could stop herself. At this, Santana turned on her stool and started to laugh loudly.

"How many have you had?" Santana asked rather amused.

"Just 2." Quinn answered with a teasing smile, something she doesn't do unless she is pretty buzzed from the alcohol. "Maybe 3?" She added.

"Why are you even drinking tonight? It's Wednesday. You're going to regret it tomorrow when we have that early staff meeting." Santana pointed out.

"Then why are you drinking?" Quinn countered.

"Cause I don't get drunk from just sniffing alcohol." Santana told her with a laugh.

"I do not!" Quinn argued.

"You really do." It was Britney this time. "It's okay Q, you're much more fun though." The taller blonde said honestly.

"What? Am I not fun normally? I'm so much fun!" Quinn questioned the taller girl which in turn only made Britney chuckle. "Stop laughing at me guys!" Quinn was growing frustrated.

"Okay, sit down princess." Santana told her. "Why are we drinking again?" Santana asked again as she got hers and Britney's drinks.

"Uh..." Quinn thought, looking for an answer. "I miss my boyfriend." She lied. It wasn't a total lie. She did miss her boyfriend but that was not the reason she needed a drink. She needed to stop her vivid thoughts of Rachel and that damn dress so she figured that a couple of drinks could help her calm down. _It didn't_. Its like the image of the short brunette keeps replaying in her head over and over again. Plus the idea of Rachel spending the night with Shay Mitchell just makes the jealousy that much more vivid. She really needed to stop these feelings. She had a boyfriend, whom she loves and loves her. She really needed to figure out a way to stop these feelings she's having fro Rachel. _But first, another drink_.

It was now close to 2am and the bar is about to close. The girls had way more drinks then anyone of them intended to. Britney was the least drunk out them so she was going to drive Santana home but that leaves Quinn stranded and the girl was clearly not coherent enough to drive home. At that point as they were fighting over how everyone was getting home, Britney had an idea of her own. Grabbing Quinn's phone she dialed a number she knew pretty well.

"Hello?" The person on the other line answered.

"Yay Rachel, you're awake!" Britney exclaimed.

"Britney?" Rachel recognized the voice for she has spoken to Britney on the phone many times before. "Is this your new number? Better yet, are you okay? Why are you calling at such hours?" Rachel bombarded the blonde with questions.

"No, this is Quinn's phone." That caught Rachel's attention as she listened closely. "And so Me, Santana and Quinn went out for drinks and well...we had more then we plan to." Britney explained, "I'm okay to drive Santana's car and take her home but..." Britney couldn't finish.

"Quinn is stuck." Rachel concluded.

"Yeah." Britney confirmed. "You're the only one I know that lives close by." The blonde further explained. "So..."

"Where are you guys?" Rachel asked as she already started to put on shoes and a jacket.

"Lace Bar, do you know where that is?" Britney asked.

"I'll be there in 15 minutes. Stay with her." Rachel replied as Britney agreed. After hanging up on the phone, Rachel took a deep breath and readies herself to go save a friend. It's going to be a long night.

Exactly 15 minutes later, Rachel was seen getting out of a taxicab, no longer in her fancy attire but she was now sporting tight black legging, running shoes and a loose hoodie. The girl looked like she was going to go for a run.

"Rachel!" Britney yelled as spotted the small girl. At the mention of Rachel's name, Quinn's head snapped up in the direction of the girl. Her heart decided that this was the perfect time to speed up and her mind wasn't clear enough to comprehend what was about to happen.

"Hey, you guys okay?" Quinn heard the smaller girl ask. _Yes. No. Is she?_

"What are you doing here?" Quinn asked, her tone a bit harsher then she wanted it to sound. Taken back, Rachel looked at Britney for answers.

"She doesn't know I'm taking her home. Great." Rachel stated.

"What? No." Quinn stood up from the spot she was inhabiting for the past half an hour. "I am completely ca...pa...ble..." Quinn struggled to get the word out.

"Yup, I'm taking you home." Rachel declared as she witness the drunk that is Quinn.

"No." Quinn was being stubborn.

"Give her your keys and get your ass in the car Q." Santana piped up suddenly. "You're too drunk to even make decisions right now." She added.

"Fine!" Quinn gave up, "Here!" Quinn handed Rachel her purse.

"What?" Rachel was confused at the blonde's gesture.

"I can't find my keys." Quinn admitted.

"Of course." Rachel started looking, rather amused by the blonde's drunken yet adorable state. "You guys going to be okay?" Rachel then turned to the other girls as she found what she was looking for. Britney nodded as she walked Santana to their car. "Text me when you get home okay?" Rachel added as she tries to help Quinn to her car.

As Rachel settles in the driver's seat, she tried not to change too much of the blonde's settings. She turned to face Quinn and saw that the girl was knocked out in the passenger's side.

"Quinn?" Rachel asked softly but nothing. "Hey..." She then poked the blonde, "I need to know where you live." Still nothing. "_Great."_ Quinn was passed out and Rachel didn't know where the girl lived. She didn't have a choice but to take the girl back to her own place. _Fun._


	5. Public News

**Author's Note: **Hello again! Here's another chapter for you. I'm trying to make these chapters longer so that's why its taking some time but bare with me. I'm trying to keep the update time wait as short as possible. Also, the timeline of this story seems slow because I'm writing it as a day to day type thing. If there was a time jump, I'll inform you of them. I plan to make this a long story so please be patience with me. Thank you again for reading, following, favoriting and reviewing my story. The continuous effort from you guys is greatly appreciated.

**haelthy: **Since you're a consistant reviewer, I think personally replying to you is just the right thing to do. :D Thank you again for reading and reviewing! And as for the crush, it's still a crush for now. Things will change in the next couple of chapters and I promise drama will ensue. And I like Shay too which means she's going to be around for a while. Plus, don't forget the 'boyfriend'. ;]

**Chapter 4- Public News**

The smell of coffee was filling the apartment as Rachel try to silently get ready for her day without disturbing the blonde still sleeping on her bed. Tip toeing out of the bathroom; Rachel slowly made her way over to her closet thinking that she should have picked out her outfit before jumping into the shower. Without a sound, Rachel hurried back into the bathroom to change and decided to just pull back her hair because she didn't want to chance waking up the blonde with her blow dryer. Finally happy with the way she looked, Rachel scribbled a note to the blonde, knowing she might freak out once she woke up in someone else's bed later. Also, Rachel wanted the blonde to know that she was excused from the staff meeting later this morning. Checking her phone, it read 6:45am, which gives her more than enough time to get to work. Walking into the kitchen, Rachel quickly made herself a cup of coffee. Sitting down to relax a bit before heading out, Rachel thought back to last night's situation.

**_[Flashback]_**

_Finally reaching her apartment, Rachel pulled over to the curb to help Quinn out. _

"_Ms. Berry? Do you need help?" It was her doorman. _

"_Hi Richard!" Rachel looked up as the older man opened the front door to her apartment complex. "Uh, my..." Rachel wasn't sure what to call Quinn, "my-my friend," Rachel decided that was the best choice to not be questioned by her curious doorman. "Yes! My friend here had a bit too much to drink tonight and I don't know where she lives so I thought it best to take her home with me..." Rachel tried explaining while making sure Quinn doesn't fall on her face._

"_You don't know where your 'friend' lives?" Richard asked her amusingly. _

"_We're new to this...friends thing. I- I got to get her to bed..." Rachel turned a bit red as she realized how bad this is all sounding. Here she is carrying a drunken girl whom she doesn't even know where she lives, claiming to be her friend and wanting to take her to bed. _Great_. _

"_Good luck Miss." Richard gave Rachel a wink._

"_No, no luck! It's not like that! Its just...oh never mind." Rachel gave up as Richard started laughing. "Can you just call Matthew to park that white Mercedez in my spot." Rachel instructed as she dragged Quinn to the elevator. _

"_Sure thing Miss." Richard agreed, still chuckling at the girl's clear embarrassment, as he did what he was asked. _

_10 floors later and about 20 struggling steps afterwards, Rachel finally reached the front door to her apartment. She definitely didn't need to do her morning routine after this work out. Fishing for her keys while balancing Quinn proved to be a difficult task. Rachel fumbles for her keys but as she was about to insert it into the lock, Quinn twitched causing Rach to drop them. _

"_Shit." Rachel bended, naturally, to grab them, forgetting she was holding onto someone. Quinn fell face first against the door with a loud 'thud' but was caught before she went tumbling to the ground. "Fuck." Cruse words were all Rachel knew at the moment apparently. _

_After several more minutes of mere struggles, Rachel was able to lead Quinn's dead weight into her room. Rachel's apartment was beautiful and fully decorated with warming home décor but that still doesn't change the fact that she only had one bedroom. Rachel didn't think she ever needed a guest room because she hardly had any guest over. That accompanied with her constant travel plans, it wasn't necessary. Therefore she had turned her spare room into a fully equipped working office._

"_Good job Rachel." She told herself as she pushed her way into her own room. Finally able to help Quinn onto the bed and tucked in, Rachel got up but was forcefully pulled back down. "Wahhhh..." Rachel yelped._

"_Don't go." Rachel barely heard what Quinn said. She was so close to the blonde now that she can feel how warm Quinn was. A million thoughts ran through her mind, as the idea of sleeping in the same bed with Quinn was both exciting and terrifying. "Stay with me." Rachel heard the blonde speak again, this time Quinn's eyes were open. _

_Rachel found herself drowning in those beautiful hazel eyes and she needed to look away before she did something they'll both regret. Reaching out to push a blonde strand of hair away, Rachel gave the girl lying on her bed a warm smile before getting up. _

"_Goodnight Quinn." Rachel said before walking out to settle in the living room. It took all of Rachel's will power to not jump into bed with Quinn but Rachel knew better. Quinn was drunk and has a boyfriend and Rachel couldn't handle it if Quinn woke up hating herself the next morning. To Rachel, Quinn was still straight with a boyfriend, which means she's off limits. She really hates her damn good morals right about now. _

**_[END FLASHBACK]_**

Sighing at the memories, Rachel reached for her thermos cup and poured the rest of her coffee into it. Getting up, she made her way to work not knowing what her day had in store for her. Making her way into the lobby she spotted Matthew.

"Ms. Rachel, new car? Need me to get it for you?" Rachel looked confused for a moment then remember she indeed brought a car back last night. It wasn't hers though.

"No, thank you Matthew." Rachel gave him a smile, "My friend will be down later and her name is Quinn Fabray, so can you help her with her car?" She politely asked.

"Of course." He shot her a happy smile before going back to his job.

"Good night Miss?" She then heard Richard greet her.

"She was a friend Richard." Rachel confirmed as she waited for him to wave over a cab for her.

"She's a beautiful friend who is still in your apartment." Richard added as a cab arrived and he opened the door to let her in. "Good day." He smiled and waved as she left. Rachel rolled her eyes at her doorman but smile regardless because she did have a beautiful girl sleeping in her bed.

About 30 minutes later Rachel reached her building. She paid the cabman and made her way to her office but was stop suddenly by Kurt.

"Thank GOD you're here!" Kurt was now walking beside her to her office.

"Good morning to you too Kurt. What's with the panic?" Rachel asked, as she was able to settle into her office.

"This. And this...oh yeah and this." Kurt said as he place one magazine down at a time in front of Rachel. Confused, she picked them up and the side headlines was glaring back at her. "Yeah, I had the same reaction!" Kurt commented as he witnessed Rachel's facial expressions.

The article's headline "SHAY MITCHELL BATTING FOR THE LADIES?" was accompanied with a photo of Shay laughing it up with a lady friend, which happens to be Rachel. Rachel admitted the picture looked questionable but she couldn't believe it. Every tabloid had a similar image and tagline that pretty much outs the tall model. The thing was the picture was taken when they both shared an inside joke and Shay held onto Rachel closely, trying not to die from laughing. No matter what really happened, the press is taking off with this new thing they found.

"Was Shay notified?" Rachel asked as she was already thinking of damage control.

"Yeah. Her and her manger are on their way as we speak. Quinn better be here soon." Kurt replied. _Crap_. Rachel completely forgot that Quinn was the agent assigned to Shay. _More crap_.

"She's not coming in today. She called me this morning, feeling really sick. Something she ate." Rachel covered. "I'll handle this, since I'm a part of it." Rachel confirmed.

"Quinn should have stayed at the event with you two last night. Maybe she wouldn't be sick and you two wouldn't have gotten caught." Kurt pointed out.

"Gotten caught? Kurt, Shay and I are merely friends." Rachel corrected.

"You can't fool me Rach. I can tell when you've been a little more than friendly with a girl." Kurt points out.

"We're friends." Rachel said sternly.

"Uh huh." Kurt was one of those friends that won't back down just to please Rachel and sometimes she really hated him for that. "Look Rach, I'm not asking you to give me the deets on your conquests. I just need you to be careful. As your boss, I want you to keep this job but as your good friend, I want you to protect that fragile heart of yours." Kurt said honestly and this is when Rachel is glad she has a friend like him.

"I know Kurt. And believe me, Shay and I are just friends. Always have been. There's the occasional flirtation but nothing has ever gone surpass that. I adore her. As a friend. I guess our closeness can cause some speculation here and there but I can't help it, the girl is affectionate!" Rachel explained.

"I know what you mean!" Kurt agreed before looking at his phone. "Apparently Perez Hilton think you two look '_adorbs_'" Kurt showed Rachel the article. Sighing, Rachel's day was going to be a long one and it barely started.

Back at Rachel's apartment a certain blonde was waking up with a mega headache. Quinn slowly opened her eyes as it painfully tries to adjust to the small amount of light that was peeking through the curtains. Once she was able to get accustomed to the morning rays, panic started to settle in. She didn't know where she was and who's bed she ended up in. The first thing she did was check under the covers and relief washed over her as she was still in the clothes from last night. Still, where was she? Looking around the bedroom, there was nothing that would tell her whom this room belonged to. Her eyes then landed on a glass of water and some aspirins on the nightstand. She reached over to take them and noticed a note near by with '_Quinn_' written elegantly on it. Opening it, Quinn was nervous about the content it contains. What if she did something stupid last night and this person is letting her know? Taking a deep breath she started reading.

_Quinn,_

_I'm sure by now you've had several panic attacks as to where you are. This is Rachel. Britney asked me to take you home last night after you girls had too much to drink. However, you sort of passed out on me (not literally) before I was able to ask you the location of your home. So that's why you ended up in my apartment. By now you also found the glass of water and some aspirins. There's coffee in the kitchen if you want so help yourself. Feel free to stay as long as you need, no rush. Your car is parked in the complex's garage so just ask Matthew to retrieve it for you down in the lobby. Oh, and don't worry about work today. Take the day to feel better. I know how it could be. I'll email you if anything important comes up. Have a good day, Quinn._

_-R. Berry_

Quinn let out a breath of relief she didn't even realize she was holding. Rereading the note several times, Quinn was still wondering if the shorter girl slept in the same bed as her. _Great, they were in the same bed and she can't remember it_. She's never drinking again. She quickly took the two aspirins laying on the nightstand and got up to head to the kitchen. Her head was hurting a lot worst then any other time she's been hung over so she decided to make a pit stop to the bathroom before heading to the kitchen.

"Oh god, I look like death." She told herself suddenly really glad Rachel wasn't here to witness this mess. Taking a closer look at herself, she realized her forehead was a bit bruised. Touching the sensitive spot, she winch at the pain. "What the hell happened last night?" Quinn was going to have to ask Rachel later, which means, actually talking to the girl. She wasn't sure she could face the smaller girl after what happened last night. She also knew she had to thank the girl at some point too. Finally making her way into the kitchen after fixing herself up a bit, Quinn looked around for her purse. She was thankful that Rachel gave her the day off because with this headache she wasn't up for any social interactions. She saw what she was looking for sitting on the kitchen counter and search for her phone. She saw that she had a bunch of missed calls from Santana and Britney accompanied with worried text messages. However, the one that caught her attention was one from Shay's manager saying he needed to talk ASAP. _Crap, what happened?_ Deciding that its important, Quinn dial the fella.

"Quinn!" The man on the other line answered.

"Sorry Lance I..." Quinn started but was cut off.

"Don't worry about it. Rachel is taking care of it. I'll talk to you when you feel better okay?" Lance told her and before she could answer the guy hung up.

"Rude." Quinn uttered out loud. What is Rachel taking care of? What happened? Those were the questions that were floating through Quinn's mind. She should know what's going on since Shay is her client after all. She needed answers so she called the one person that would know.

"Brit?" Quinn was hopping the girl wasn't busy. "You busy?"

"Q! I'm so glad to hear from you. I couldn't ask Rachel what happened to you and we couldn't reach you so San and I thought maybe Rach like killed you and threw you in the river or something." Britney was rather imaginative.

"Or something." Quinn couldn't help but giggle. "Brit, I need to know what's going on with Shay Mitchell. Her manager said Rachel is handling it? What is she handling?" Quinn was curious.

"Oh. Apparently there are some pictures of Shay cozying up with a girlfriend and the magazines are all outing her. I don't know how they're going to handle it since they're all still in a emergency meeting." Britney explained.

"I'm coming in." Quinn replied as she hung up without telling Brit why. Quinn knew exactly who the 'girlfriend' was in the picture and she wanted to be there to see how Rachel handled it.

"Quinn just hung up on me." Brit turned to tell Santana. "I don't why she's coming in when she got the day off." The tall blonde pondered.

"_Oh shit_. I know what." Santana replied suddenly as she showed Britney the pictures everyone was worried about.

* * *

_**NOTE:** Hope you're okay with me stopping there. ;] Next chapter will be about the damage control and will the girls get a chance to talk about Quinn's drunken night? Stay tune! Much love._


	6. Perks

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Hello again. I'm truly sorry for the long wait on this one. I was out of town for work and really didn't have the time to sit down and write. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. I apologize for the slow pace it's on. I just need to get some foundations set before any really happens. I promise there will be goodness and drama. Thank you again to every one who is reading this story and following it. Also, review! Let me know what you think! :D Again, enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 5- Perks**

A group of people, including Rachel, was huddled together in Kurt's office to discuss the best possible way to handle Shay's situation. The model's people were trying to get Rachel to publicly announce that they were just friends and things were being blown out of proportion. It wasn't a horrible idea until the agency realized that they were trying to put Rachel out for the kill. Now everyone was just arguing over who was going to be thrown under the bus.

"This is all your fault you know?" Rachel heard Shay whisper to her, as the two girls were the only ones not contributing to the argument right now.

"How so?" Rachel questioned, curious as to how it was her fault.

"If you didn't tell me that stupid joke these pictures wouldn't exist." Shay points out with a smile.

"I'm sure you'll still find a way to flirt and get close to me." Rachel found herself flirting. This wasn't new for them. Their relationship from the beginning was somewhat base off the flirty banters they've shared, which grew into a genuine friendship over time. Now when they flirt it's all in good fun and almost second nature.

"Possibly." Shay teased as she moved her head closer to Rachel to whisper something, "But do I even have to try?" The model countered. This made Rachel giggle as the two shared a secret moment among the chaos. Or so they thought.

Outside of Kurt's office stood Quinn, who just witnessed what seems to be an intimate interaction between Rachel and her client. To say that her jealousy was unsettling was an understatement. However, she knew better than to act irrationally, especially at work. She fixes herself up before she prepares to enter the chaos that was happening in Kurt's office.

"Try not to kill your client." Santana uttered with a chuckle. "Don't take it out on them. They don't know your secret like we do. Be professional." San made sure she was clear, but added a wink.

"Aren't I always?" Quinn gave her a look and continues on her path.

Seconds later, Quinn entered the chaotic office and no one seems to notice. Well she thought no one had noticed. From the side where Rachel was sitting beside Shay, now should the short brunette. Rachel jumped up from her sitting position once the familiar blonde locks entered the room. She wasn't sure why she reacted so erratically, but it earned her a bemused smile from Shay.

"Shut up." Rachel whispered to the model, which earned her a full-blown giggle. Rachel turned five thousand shades of red by this point. However, before the short girl can say anything more a loud 'ahem' was echoed throughout the room. Everyone stopped their chatter to look at who it was that had interrupted them.

"May I suggest something? I mean Ms. Mitchell is my client after all." Quinn questioned. It wasn't really a question. It was her being polite before she does what she plans to do anyways. Quinn looked around at everyone's reaction. Most seem a bit annoyed that she budded in and the rest just looks scared at the demanding demeanor Quinn portrayed. Then her eyes landed on Rachel's who was giving her a smile of encouragement and she felt her heart skip a beat. That damn smile! Recovering from her momentary hiccup she held her head up and explained her plan. "Alright. I have no idea what the lot of you are planning or were discussing moments earlier, but I'm sure none of those ideas were useful." Quinn was being brutal and that wasn't brewing well with her audience. Rachel looked a bit nervous for her. Cute. "Everyone is looking at these pictures like it's the worst news and it's going to ruin Shay's career. News flash, she plays a gay character on a hit television show! Her career hasn't been better. People are curious. People are always curious. This doesn't mean we have to confirm or deny anything. Speculation will always make its way around. What I suggest is that we only confirm one thing. That Shay and Rachel are long time friends whom are really close, which is entirely true." Quinn paused but then was interrupted.

"That doesn't explain the photos though!" Shay's manager spoke out.

"I wasn't finished." Quinn shot back. "Has anyone even asked the girls what was going on in the photo?" Quinn questioned the room. Everyone looked guilty and nervous at the question. "That's what I thought. Everyone just jumped to conclusions like all these tabloids when all you have to do is ask the sources themselves." Quinn was on a roll at this point. Everyone literally looks like they were going to cry at the way Quinn was handling them. "So we're going to pick a reliable social outlet and let Shay and Rachel confirm to everyone that they are good friends. We can make it fun while allowing Shay to give her support to the LGBT community. She's not hiding. Neither is Rachel. No one will be thrown under the bus for an issue that really isn't much of an issue. We'll make some PR outing where several other friends will be accompanying them. Other than that, they can go about their lives without making this anything more than it is, friends enjoying each other's company." At this Quinn eyed Rachel and saw the surprised look on the other girl's face.

"What happens when Shay is questioned if she's gay or not?" The manage spoke again.

"Well, is she?" Quinn asked, more curious for her than anything else. Quinn looked over at Shay, awaiting an answer. Shay's manager looks nervous, as he too didn't really know the answer to that question.

"Never say never..." Shay replied enthusiastically. That's the thing with Shay. She doesn't like to define herself as anything. She lives life as it is. Whatever happens, happens.

"Are you comfortable with giving the public that answer Shay?" Quinn asked the model in which Shay nodded in agreement. "Great, things are settled then. Feel free to take up to your Instagram or Twitter to confirm your friendship. Have me take a look at it before posting it and we can all go from there. I'll have a talk with all of these tabloids to give them a bone to chew on. Are we all in agreement?" Quinn finished.

"Ma'am yes ma'am." Shay shouted, amused as everyone else nodded their approval. Quinn looks pleased with herself as she turned back around and walks out the door she burst into. "Dang, your girl is feisty." Rachel heard Shay tell her.

"She's not my girl!" Rachel shot back as she tried to follow Quinn outside.

"But you want her to be." Shay whispered next to her, "Talk to you later friend." Shay gave Rachel a cheek kiss before she walks off with her people.

Outside, Quinn made her way over to her desk, dying to take a seat. Her head was still pounding from the hangover she had caused herself. She was in dire need of coffee. And like someone heard her thoughts, the smell of coffee assaulted her nasal.

"You probably need this." The familiar voice spoke behind her. Quinn wasn't expecting Rachel to talk to her let alone bring her coffee. Spinning around on her chair she gave the other girl a warm smile as she accepted the coffee.

"Thank you." Quinn spoke, but then noticed something on the girl's cheek. "Uh, you have a little something on your face." Q announced to the girl.

"Oh?" Rachel rubbed at her face, turning a bit red at her embarrassment.

"Other side..." Quinn tries to help her, but to no anvil. The shorter girl can't seem to get it. "Here..." Reaching up, Quinn helps the shorter girl wipe off what Quinn realized now was lipstick.

"Ah, thanks..." Rachel felt her body grow warmer under Quinn's touch, but was worried at the change in Quinn's expression afterwards. "What's wrong?" Rachel asked.

"You might not want to make a habit of letting Shay give you kisses if you guys are trying to portray a friendship." Quinn replied a bit harsher than she intended to.

"Wha-what?" Rachel stuttered, confused.

"Lipstick." Quinn showed her the content now on her fingers and Rachel turned even a deeper shade of red. As jealous as Quinn feels right now, she can't help but smile at Rachel's reactions. "Don't worry, I won't tell." Quinn lets Rachel know.

"Tell what?" Rachel was curious as what Quinn was thinking.

"You and Shay." Quinn said matter of fact, not wanting to really go into details about their relationship.

"What about me and Shay?" Rachel had other plans. "Pray tell."

"Your secret relationship." Quinn replied, trying to keep things short.

"Secret relationship?" It was Rachel's turn to smile. "Trust me Quinn, if Shay and I wanted to be in a relationship, it wouldn't be a secret. We're not the type to hide something like that." Rachel confirmed. Quinn felt relieved not that she was hoping she was wrong or anything.

"Oh." Was all Quinn could utter out.

"Not so many words now, huh?" Rachel was enjoying the moment. Normally, Rachel would have to work pretty hard to keep her cool around the blonde, but this morning seems to be easier.

"Sorry." Quinn apologized not looking at the other girl.

"Hey..." Rachel reached over to take the blonde's face to look at her not realizing what she was doing. "Uh- don't be sorry. You were just making an observation. No harm done." Rachel told her with a warm smile. "How are you feeling?"

"Oh uh, I'm okay. A bit of a headache, but I'll survive." Quinn answered surprised. "And thank you for-for taking care of me last night." The blonde got out.

"My pleasure. I just hope everything is okay." Rachel replied.

"What do you mean?" Quinn questioned, curious.

"Well, it was the middle of the week and you got wasted." Rachel reminded her. Embarrassed, Quinn covered her face.

"Oh my God. I hope I didn't do anything embarrassing." Quinn prayed she didn't.

"Hrm, what's your definition of embarrassing?" Rachel teased, feeling more at ease with the blonde.

"What did I do?" Quinn asked with wide eyes.

"I have a meeting to get to but I'll talk to you later..." Rachel replied with a wink and started to walk away.

"You can't just leave!" Quinn yelled a little too loud at Rachel but the shorter girl just kept walking but she swore she could hear Rachel laughing.

"Calm down Blondie." Quinn heard San, "Trouble in paradise already?" Quinn shot her a dagger.

"I'm not in the mood for you Santana." Quinn wasn't really in a bad mood. She just didn't want to explain anything to Santana and she knew the girl would ask her about her night's activities.

"I'm assuming you didn't get any last night, then." Santana was pushing the blonde. "Too bad, good opportunity."

"I have a boyfriend S. Nothing was going to happen." Quinn decided to answer San.

"But you wanted it to." S stated. "You don't have to lie to me Q. I can tell by the way you eye the hobbit and the way the big green monster makes its presence known every time Shay is around." Santana commented.

"Yes, I'll admit that I feel uneasy when Rachel is with Shay. I guess I'm a bit jealous but I'll get over it. Nothing can happen. Plus, Rachel's type is clearly not someone like me."

"First, you're more than 'a bit' jealous. Second, you're so her type. Have you miss all the looks she gives you. Like she just wants to take you on one of these desk." Santana explained causing Quinn to blush bright red at the visual image of Rachel taking her on her desk. "And Q, you're not happy in whatever relationship you're in now. Why keep lying to yourself." And just like that Quinn was brought back to reality.

"I'm happy S." Quinn assured the Latina. "It's just lately we've been distanced due to work. Finn and I will work it out. Once we do, this Rachel crush thing won't matter." Quinn explained.

"If you say so Quinn. I'm just saying, you smile more genuinely when Rachel's around." Santana pointed out, but before they could continue their conversation Brittany announced that the staff meeting would be in 15 minutes.

About an hour later the meeting came to an end. The meeting consists of plans for future promotions of the firm and the upcoming Holiday parties. The entire meeting was pretty uneventful. Rachel didn't have to speak much because Kurt was the one holding the meeting so she let him take the lead. She spent the majority of session stealing glances at a certain blonde. She couldn't help herself. She keeps telling herself that Quinn is off limits, but something continues to pull her attention towards the beautiful hazel eyes she adores. She wasn't ever going to do anything about her affections for the blonde because she knew better. However, looking doesn't hurt.

"Rachel...Rachel" Kurt called out snapping the smaller girl out her daydream.

"Yeah?" Rachel was finally aware of her surroundings. Most of the staff had already left except for Santana, Brittany Kurt and Quinn.

"I said that they're joining us for lunch to discuss more about the Holiday's events." Kurt explained.

"Yeah, okay. Yup." Rachel gathered her notes not realizing everyone was giving her a weird look.

"Boss lady is strange." Santana commented.

"This boss lady can still fire you Santana." Rachel shot back playfully.

"I was only playing boss." Santana laughs as they all headed to the lunchroom.

The short trip to the lunch area consists of Rachel and Kurt discussing work while the three girls discuss what to eat. Once they reached their destination, they all broke off for a moment to get what they all wanted to eat. It so happens that Rachel and Quinn were the first to finish and met at a large table. Habit, Rachel pulled out the chair next to Quinn for her. Quinn was taken aback for a moment. Finn never pulls out the chair for me. Quinn started to compare but think it was wise to stop her wandering thoughts. Politely thanking Rachel, Quinn took a seat somewhat happy that Rachel took the seat to her right.

"So, before they're done can you please tell me what I did last night?" Quinn still wanted to know, to ease her mind.

"Why do you want to know?" Rachel asked, somewhat amused at Quinn's insistent to know.

"So I know what I'm apologizing for. I feel like I did something stupid." Quinn admitted.

"Quinn, you have nothing to apologize for." Rachel told her. "You were asleep once I got you into the car and you stayed asleep up until I got you into my bed-" Rachel was telling the blonde but stopped when everyone started joining them. Rachel gave Quinn an apologetic look knowing the blonde really wanted to know what happened the night before. Quinn wanted to pull Rachel aside so she could finish her sentence. Quinn completely forgot that she had slept in the smaller girl's bed. Now all that is going through her head as if Rachel slept in the same bed with her and if anything had happened through the night because Quinn had the tendency to move in her sleep.

"I don't feel so well, do you guys mind if I get brief on this meeting later?" Quinn said suddenly, surprising everyone.

"Uh, yeah sure Quinn. Go home and get some rest. Rachel will brief you once you feel better. It's not urgent right now." Kurt told her as she gathered her salad and left.

Moments later at her desk, Quinn started packing her purse and laptop up determine to still work from home, she wasn't expecting company. Again, the same familiar, soothing voice echoes behind her.

"Hey Quinn, are you okay?" Rachel asked concerned. She had excused herself from lunch to use the bathroom but really she wanted to check on Quinn.

"Yeah, I'll be okay. Just still feeling the after effects from last night." Quinn lied.

"Oh okay. Well, just give me a call when you feel better and we can talk." Rachel offered.

"Will do." Quinn told her as she started to leave.

Rachel made her way back to the group upstairs as her phone beeped with a text message.

**UNKNOWN #:**

_Hey it's Quinn. _

_Your number was still in my phone. _

_Can we talk over coffee? Meet me at Perks Coffee around 7?_

Rachel was shocked at the invite and wasn't sure how to handle it. Hanging out with Quinn outside of work could be dangerous. _Rachel was always a risk taker_.

**RACHEL:**

_Of course. See you then._

Placing her phone back into her pocket. The sudden need for the day to be over overwhelms her.

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*****NOTE: **Hope that was okay. Next time, the coffee date…or is it? And the next chapter will have a time jump to the Holidays which will be explained. Much Love.


	7. Phone Calls

**Author's Note: **Hello again! First, I want to say thank you to every who is reading, following, favoring and reviewing this story. It definitely gives me the incentive to write more and give you guys what you guys want. :D I hope you enjoy this chapter for its purely just Quinn and Rachel. I know I said that there was going to be a timeline jump but I decided to keep this chapter just the interaction between our two favorites. Anyways, please review and let me know how you like everything so far. Enjoy.

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**Chapter 6- Phone Calls**

Time is a funny thing. It likes to quicken as soon as you accumulated a list full of 'to dos' yet it slows down when you're keen for it to speed up. Well, it seems like Time was playing games with Rachel. Rachel spent the rest of her day in one meeting or another and none of them seems to hold any interest to her. Granted, she was given a lot of responsibilities this upcoming holiday and she should pay more attention but she just couldn't keep a certain blonde out of her mind. She couldn't wait for the clock to strike 6 o'clock so she can be on her way to meet Quinn. However, the clock appears to be fixed on 5:45 for the past hour or so. Theoretically, Rachel was allowed to just leave, but she figured that she should stay a full day and didn't want to seem too eager and arrive early to Perks Coffee.

"Hey Rach, want to grab dinner?" It was Kurt. Rachel was startled by his question due to her intent to stare down the wall clock. This is ridiculous, Rachel thought to herself. "You okay?" Kurt asked after witnessing Rachel's mini heart attack.

"What? Oh-uh yeah, sorry. I was thinking." Rachel replied hastily.

"Really? Looked like you were having a staring contest with the wall babe." Kurt told her, clearly amused with Rachel's action earlier.

"I was not. I was just thinking!" Rachel shot back, embarrassed. "But to answer your question, I can't accompany you to dinner tonight because I've already made plans." Rachel responded as she started to pack up her stuff.

"Is it a date?" Kurt loved to pry when it came to Rachel's love life. "Cause you look nervous." He added.

"No, no it's just a business meeting of the sort." Rachel lied. Well she didn't really lie. Her meeting with Quinn wasn't a date. She wasn't sure what it was, really. All she knew was that Quinn wanted to talk. "I should go." Rachel got up, making her way to the door.

"You need to practice lying Rachel. You clearly suck at it." Kurt announced, "What ever business you're attending to, use protection." Kurt gave her a wink and left Rachel rolling her eyes.

Rachel stepped outside her office building into the brisk air of autumn that this November brought to New York. People in the surrounding offices slowly spilled out into the street as work hours came to an end. Rachel had always loved being in New York. The people, the life and atmosphere had been all so overwhelming, yet extremely exhilarating at the same time. Smiling at how lucky she is to be in the city she loves, working a job she enjoys and having coffee with beautiful people. At that last thought, Rachel puts on the coat that she's been holding before wavering down the nearest cab.

It only took Rachel about two minutes to flag down a taxi. Once inside and directing the driver of her desired destination, Rachel sat back and decided that she should let Quinn know she's on her way. Pulling out her phone, she opened the message that the two shared earlier today and Rachel couldn't help but smile. This meeting probably isn't as big a deal with Quinn as Rachel is making it to be but something about it all is making Rachel rather nervous. She felt like she was going on a date. A date with Quinn Fabray, possibly the most beautiful human being she has ever met and Rachel have met a lot of beautiful people. It's not a date! Rachel's mind was telling her. I can pretend. Coming back to reality, Rachel began to type a message to Quinn, telling the blonde she was on her way.

"I'm already here. See you soon." Came a reply almost instantly. The message got Rachel's heart rate to quicken a tad. I thought I was going to be early. Rachel was wrong.

About thirty minutes in New York traffic, the cab finally pulled up in front of Perks. Rachel paid the driver before taking a breath and exited the cab. Rachel was now standing in front of her meeting's location and she can spot the blonde sitting in a booth in the back corner. Not wanting Quinn to wait any longer, Rachel made her way inside. Rachel stopped at the counter to place her order before joining Quinn in the back.

"This seat taken?" Rachel wasn't sure why she asked that. A simple hello would have sufficed.

"It is now." Quinn looked up from her book and gave Rachel a sweet smile. Rachel gave a smile of her own as she took the seat in the booth across the blonde. "Hi." Quinn said shyly.

"Hi." Rachel greeted back, still smiling. There was no real awkwardness between the two, but the nervous tension can definitely be felt among them.

"Did you order a drink?" Quinn broke the silence.

"I did before joining you. Are you going to need a refill?" Rachel asked as she saw Quinn's cup nearing empty. Quinn looked down at her cup and chuckle a little. What an adorable sound. Rachel was losing it.

"I guess I do." Quinn was about to get up but Rachel stopped her.

"Let me. Since you've been waiting for me." Rachel offered and got up before Quinn was able to object.

Quinn watched Rachel get up with her coffee mug and couldn't help and laugh. Rachel was definitely very attentive. That was something Quinn wasn't used to. Before her thoughts were able to drift any further, Quinn felt her phone vibrate on the table. 'Rachel Berry' flashed on the screen and Quinn looked up at Rachel at the counter, confused. Rachel held out her phone, motioning for Quinn to pick up, which she did.

"Uh, hi?" Quinn answered reluctantly.

"Hi, uh I forgot to ask what it is I'm refilling." Rachel replied and Quinn can see Rachel laughing at her own forgetfulness.

"A chai latte, thank you." Quinn answered, shaking her head at the silliness of their communication. It seems like Rachel stayed up to wait for their drinks so Quinn took the time to send out a quick message to her boyfriend, telling him she was going to be home for dinner. She knew he wasn't going to be happy about it, but at the moment she didn't really care. As soon as she finished her text message, Rachel came back with the drinks.

"Sorry for the wait." Rachel said as she placed the drinks down.

"It's okay. Thank you." Quinn replied shyly.

"So..." Rachel started, wanted to know what this meeting was about, "What is it that you want to talk about?"

"Well, it was more to say thank you for everything last night." Quinn replied.

"It was nothing really Quinn. I was happy to help. I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you." Rachel told her as she took a sip of her coffee to cover up the blushing that was happening.

"Still, thank you." Quinn gave Rachel a smile that literally gave the smaller girl butterflies. "I just wanted to know, if I did anything stupid, cause I honestly don't remember anything. I don't even remember you coming to get me." Quinn asked, embarrassed.

"Let me think..." Rachel took the chance to tease the blonde. "You did flirt with my doorman, press the all the buttons in the elevator and ate all my dog's food." Rachel said nonchalantly. The look on Quinn's face was priceless. Quinn looked down right horrified.

"Oh. My. God." Quinn uttered, and Rachel couldn't keep a straight face anymore as the biggest smile appeared on her face. "I hate you." Quinn muttered when she realized that Rachel was playing her. She even threw her bunched up napkin at the smaller girl.

"I'm sorry. It was just one of those chances that you just couldn't let go of." Rachel was giggling through her comment. Rachel didn't realize her the double meaning of her statement but it didn't go unnoticed by Quinn. "No, I was being honest when I told you that you pretty much fell asleep the moment you got into the car." Rachel affirmed.

"Oh lordy, does that mean you had to carry me to your apartment?" Quinn pointed out feeling ashamed of herself.

"Hey, I might be small but I got you to bed didn't I?" Rachel was full of bad word choices today. Ducking down, Rachel realized what she just said and try to correct it. "That's not what I meant."

"I know what you meant." Quinn helped Rachel out as she blushed at the thought of going to bed with Rachel. For the second time that day, Quinn was fantasizing encounters with Rachel. "Speaking of beds, I'm sorry I kicked you out of yours." Quinn asked, trying to see if Rachel slept elsewhere or not.

"Don't worry about it." Rachel confirmed that she did. "My couch is very comfortable." Rachel beamed.

"Should of put me on the couch then." Quinn teased.

"Next time." Rachel whispered, then mentally kicked herself for wanting a next time. Both girls stayed quiet not sure what to say now. Quinn wanted to tell Rachel that next time she could of just sleep with her on the bed, but felt it wise not to entertain this crush that doesn't want to go away.

After a long minute of silence Rachel decided to brief Quinn on the meeting she missed earlier that day. After work talk was finished, the girls fell into some comfortable casual conversations. Topics ranged from Rachel's time in LA to Quinn's dog. Rachel was happy that she was able to talk and get to know Quinn on a more personal level. This is the first time the two talked about anything more than just work and it was nice. Quinn felt comfortable and relaxed with Rachel and it was strange since the two didn't really know each other. Conversations flow nicely with the occasional harmless flirtation from both parties.

Quinn knew better than to entertain the idea of flirting with Rachel but it was like it just came naturally when she's with smaller girl. And just as fast as that realization came her phone lit up with an incoming call. It was Fin. A frown replaced the smile she had as she excused herself to speak to her boyfriend. Guilt filling her mind as she remembered she had a boyfriend.

"Where are you?" The man on the other line shouted.

"I'm meeting a co-worker to go over some business." Quinn replied calmly, knowing well that a fight was bound to happen once she gets home.

"I come back from out of town and was expecting to see my girlfriend and all you can do is work?" Fin was annoyed.

"It's not like I had a choice Fin. It's working just like you have to work when I make plans for us." Quinn shot back feeling agitated herself. "I have to finish this meeting. We can talk when I get home." And just like that she hung up and turned off her phone so he can't reach her. Sighing, Quinn went back to Rachel, who looked worried.

"Is everything okay?" Rachel asked, concerned. She had slightly overheard the conversation Quinn had with her presumably, boyfriend.

"Yes, I'm sorry about that." Quinn apologized nothing wanting to worry Rachel about her rocky relationship.

"If you have to go, it's okay. It is getting late." Rachel said as she checks her watch.

"Yeah, it is and we will have work tomorrow." Quinn didn't want to leave but knew she had to go home and talk to Fin. "Thank you for meeting me tonight." Quinn smiled.

"Of course. I had a good chat." Rachel returned the smile. "Now let's get going before we start having another hour conversation about vegan food versus bacon." Rachel added with a chuckle. Quinn followed suit as they got up and ready themselves to leave.

Once outside Rachel started to look out for taxicab when Quinn had a better idea.

"Let me take you home." Shock was written all over Rachel's face at the idea.

"What?" The brunette questioned not sure what she just heard. Realizing that Quinn didn't mean taking Rachel to her home, but to Rachel's she was able to speak again. "Oh, it's okay. I don't want to bother you."

"Nonsense. I drove and to thank you for driving last night, let me take you home." Quinn insisted.

"Oh, okay." Rachel didn't want to argue and the idea of being with Quinn for a little longer somewhat excited her.

The two took a short walk down the street, they were about to reach Quinn's car. During that brief walk, their arms would brush each other's slightly here and there and the sensation that both girls felt was indescribable. Rachel would try to leave a little distance between them, but somehow that gap would close up quickly. Quinn wasn't even trying to avoid the contact. For the first time since she developed this crush on Rachel, she allowed herself to enjoy the smaller girl's presence. She knew she couldn't let it go on but at this moment, she wanted to feel that excitement with Rachel.

"That's my car." Quinn pointed ahead of them.

"I remember." Rachel teased as she made her way to the driver's side, earning a confused look from Quinn. Quinn followed the brunette to realize that Rachel was getting ready to open the car door for her. At that moment, Quinn knew this crush was going to be the death of her. How is she supposed to get over this crush when said crush, keeps giving her reasons to stay?

"You're sweet." Quinn flash Rachel that beautiful smile of hers as she got into the car. Closing the door, Rachel raced to the other side and got in. The car ride was filled with more stories and sarcastic comments from Rachel, which had earned several playful slaps from Quinn. They finally reached the front of Rachel's apartment complex some time later.

"Thank you for the ride home. I'll see you at work tomorrow?" Rachel said as she opened the door to leave.

"Where else would I be?" Quinn teased. "And you're welcome." And like that the two girls said their good-byes. Smiling to herself, Rachel turned to go inside.

"Don't." Rachel said before her doorman can say anything. He just gave her a knowing smile as he bid her Goodnight.

It only took Quinn about 20 minutes to get home in the night from Rachel's place. The evening with Rachel had allowed her to escape from her reality and the troubles that is her relationship with Fin. She was honest when she told Santana that they were happy. Her and Fin had great times with each other still and she loves him. However, lately it seems like they were going through a slump. Work has been getting busier for the both of them with him traveling constantly. Fin was promoted recently and has been taking his 'boss' like status home, forgetting that Quinn doesn't work for him. The tall high school football player was also extremely insecure about himself and knew he was lucky to have someone as beautiful as Quinn as his girlfriend. He became overly protective and possessive. In other word, Fin was very controlling. Quinn can hold her own, though. Finn might be controlling but whenever the two got into a fight, it's usually Fin who ends up apologizing. So it's not like Quinn was unhappy with Finn. She just wasn't constantly happy with him. Having just parked, Quinn dreads the upcoming fight the two was going to have.

Making her way into the home the two shared, Quinn placed her things down on the kitchen counter. Fin was watching TV on the sofa adjacent to where she stood. She walked over to where he sat and saw that he had a blanket and some pillows laid out.

"Are you planning on sleeping out here tonight?" Quinn asked, annoyance clearly in her voice.

"Well since we're not talking, I don't see why we should sleep together." Fin replied flatly, his eyes still on the TV screen. Clearly he's still mad she hung up on him.

"Fine by me." Quinn was beyond caring right now. They were going to have a more adult like conversation about it tomorrow morning, but right now Quinn was too tired to deal with it. She made her way to their shared room and collapse on the bed. Then her phone that was in her back pocket vibrated notifying her that she had an unread text. Pulling it out, she check to see whom it was.

**Rachel:** _Hoped you got home safe.  
__Goodnight and sweetest of dreams to you Quinn._

And just like that, Quinn's mood turned for the better.

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***NOTE: What will happen between Quinn and Rachel now? Let's flash forward to the Holidays and find out as I bring back the gang next chapter as well as introduce some new members. And where there's a party, there's drama. Till next time my friends. Much love.


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